LibChat: Honors Program Questions

Which database is best depends on your particular research need. For complex research projects or papers you will likely be using multiple different databases or resources. All of these databases can be accessed through our A to Z Databases list.

SuperSearch (Paid Subscription Database)

• Searches many of our databases at the same time.
• Pros:
  • You are able to search through millions of sources at once.
  • You can identify which scholars/specialized areas are discussing a topic.
• Cons:
  • You may find a lot of sources that are irrelevant to your topic.
  • It contains a lot of non-scholarly sources.
  • It lacks subject specific filters that some specialized databases have.

Specialized Databases (Most Are Paid Subscription Databases)

• The A to Z Databases lists all of our databases. The "Subject" filter lets you chose a particular academic program or subject area.
• Pros:
  • You can find a database focused on a particular area of study.
  • Some specialized databases have subject specific filters that are tailored to the research needs of researchers and professionals in the field.
• Cons:
  • A specialized database may not have a lot of content on a particular topic.Using only one specialized database may mean that you miss some relevant sources.
  • We might not subscribe to any relevant specialized databases for a particular topic

Web of Science (Paid Subscription Database)

• Web of Science lets you follow different research conversations by tracking source forwards by viewing citations of the source and backwards by analyzing a source's references.
• Pros:
  • It has a lot of specialized search features that can help you refine your search, view an author profile etc., that are not available in other sources.
  • It has a collection of open access non-subscription resources that you can access after you graduate from Radford University.
• Cons:
  • It has limited content. It will not include all sources that cite a particular source.
  • It's content is primarily in the areas of the sciences and social sciences.

Google Scholar (Free)

• Google Scholar is a search engine of sources Google has decided are scholarly.
• Pros
  • You can find a lot of sources, many that you can't find in Radford University's databases.
  • It's "Cited By" tool frequently lets you find more sources that cite a source than you can find in Web of Science.
  • You can access fulltext of some sources that you can't access in Radford University's databases.
• Cons
  • You can be overwhelmed with sources.
  • Google Scholar does not have filters like most of the library databases have.
  • Google Scholar has a lot of non-scholarly sources with questionable credibility.
  • While searching Google Scholar is free, many of the sources ask you to purchase them. Note: If you access Google Scholar through our A to Z Databases list while a student at Radford University it allows to search our collection of subscription journals.